After enduring 4 flights and 34 hours of travel, the team is home. There were no major hitches in our flights or luggage handling, so we are very thankful to God. There are so many things to be thankful for on this trip including the faithful prayer warriors back in the states, our supportive church staff, and our loving families.

We will do a short report on this trip during the Sunday evening service at Wedgwood Baptist Church on March 29th. We will also try to have a full hour or so reserved in an attempt to cover more details of the trip. Detailed trip reports, pictures, etc. will also be placed on the team web site at www.reapwbc.org.

!A Dios Sea La Gloria!

We woke up early this morning and caught the 6:50 am flight from Iquitos to Lima. We bought breakfast  at McDonalds, made a run to the mall that has a great view of the Pacific and did some shopping for all our friends and family back home.

As the “team coordinator”, I am taking the liberty to add some somewhat comical comments about this outstanding group of people. I can imagine a better group of folks to travel with.

Despite Cody’s blatant disregard for humanity to support his team coordinator, we all had a good time.

Stewart was finally cut off at the ATM. It was a sad site to watch him get the insufficient funds message, but he has enough Peruvian items to start his own Peru souvenir shop in Fort Worth.

Lindsie is still swooning from the love letter she received last night. He gave her a bracelet and she gave him her sweaty bandana.

Blake has tripped over all over Peru. He’s still mastering his adult-size feet.

Robert and Stacie survived the week and are still married.

Julia improved her farmer’s tan and gained an appreciation for the police bureacracy in Iquitos.

Marcelo (Mijo).  Maintained his composure while translating for 9 Americanos and almost having his clothes traded for piranha jewelry.

This male-oriented team took on some interesting facets. (Can I use that word in relation to men?) We have purchased enough weaponry to equip a small battalion. We ate all of our food and most of what the ladies didn’t eat. Although verbal communication is not a male strength, these guys made great strides in building relationships with the men in the Peruvian churches.

And finally, Paul was Paul.

See ya’ll tomorrow,

Jeff

YEEHAW, EH?!?!?!?!

After a day doing our last bit of shopping in Iquitos, we took the team to the “zoo”. Robert Adams screamed like a woman when they put the Anaconda on him! Stacie wanted to take the monkey home. Cody, Blake and Stewart seemed drawn to the sloths. They are really cool.

Tonight was a culminating service with all the people in the church’s we’ve been working with. There was probably 250 in attendance and what a service. Great singing, powerful praying and a good message from Robert. After the preaching, the entire church ate together. They then brought the Americans to the front of the church and the entire body sang “Friends Are Friends Forever” in Spanish. What an emotional bonding time this was! Every member of the church then visited each of us wishing a good travel and blessings.

Pray for us as we leave very early in the morning, 5:00 am from the hotel, to catch a 6:50am flight. We’ll spend the day in Lima doing more tourist stuff and preparing ourselves to re-enter the “modern” world.

Thank you for praying us through this trip. It has truly been an incredible experience.

We had our third crime incident this afternoon. There is more occurring on this trip because we are spending more time in Iquitos and this is a low season for tourists so we are a “target”.

On the way back from the construction site, a man on a motorcycle reached into the moto-taxi with Julia, Lindsie and Stewart. Julia was in the middle and was holding her purse. The man grabbed her purse and zoomed off.

Little did he realize that our taxi drivers are also brothers from the church. One of our brothers, Aldo, pursued the culprit and single-handedly apprehended him. Right now, Julia and Marcelo are at the police station identifying the guy and hopefully picking up her purse. She didn’t have anything of value in the purse but it is still is nice to get it back.

For the Mom’s back in the states, your boys are really safe. These are just some of the difficulties that exist in ministering in impoverished areas.

Pray for tonight’s service which will be with the men of the church. Robert is preaching on how men should have each other’s back. Brother Aldo will be used as an example as our Peruvian brother came to our aid during the robbery.

Thursday (3/19) was a day full of opportunities to minister here in Iquitos. We started the day with construction work on the class room building at Monte de Dios Church. We had to bail water out of the construction site, move sand and dirt with wheelbarrows, carry bricks, and hone our skills on “palas” or shovels as they are known back in the states. We also assisted as they built the forms and poured 3 columns with concrete.

There were 10-15 Peruvians working with us throughout this time. Many of the leaders were emotional as they are seeing this building take shape. This is an answer to many years of prayer and it is an honor for us to be a part of this effort.

Our worship time with the women was refreshing. Over 50 attended and we didn’t have to endure any rain. Stacie Adams gave a testimony on honoring God from a woman’s point-of-view.  Robert’s message was on being less so that Christ can become more.

We had some minor physical issues today and need prayer for strength to continue our work on Friday. Pray specifically for Paul’s back, Stacie’s stomach, and various aches and pains due to sunburn, insect bites, and sore muscles.

On Friday, we will continue the work on the building and tonight’s worship will be with the men of the church. Pray for Robert and those who will give testimonies.

Thanks for all your prayer!!!!

Despite having to walk about half a mile through torrential rainfall and trudging through muddy streets, we had a wonderful time of worship with the youth from Leopoldo’s church. Over 30 youth weathered the storm and it was a blessing to worship with them.

Robert Adams gave the sermon. Lindsie Adams sang a solo. Blake Adams, Cody Williamson, and Stewart DeForde all gave a testimony about God.

Tonight’s service is for the women of the church, but first we must work.

After an unexpected delay, we arrived back in Iquitos today at 2:00 pm. Although the engine trouble may have cost us a day on the construction side, we were able to take a break from a pretty tight schedule and relax. We managed to do a little fishing for piranha and other things, but unfortunately didn’t catch anything. Tonight, we are leading a service for youth from several churches in Iquitos. Robert Adams will be leading with Marcelo Hernandez translating. Cody and Stewart may give their testimonies. Lindsie will be singing. Pray that this service will please God.

Tomorrow, we hope to join in on the construction on the classrooms at the seminary. Pray that the weather will be favorable and our time will be productive.

Here is a random photo as we first attempted to go up the jungle. We didn’t make it together because this boat couldn’t handle this many people with this much luggage.

Traveling Via Rapido

Due to mechanical problems with the boat, the team stayed an additional night in Pebas. They were able to visit all seven villages along the river. The team is doing well. Pray for continued safety as they leave for Iquitos early in the morning. (Wednesday, 18th)

Today we traveled the markets with Pastor Richar. Unlike past trips, we only were shopping for basic medicines for the Yagua. In the afternoon, we went to their version of Home Depot to purchase some extra tools for the construction work. The weather was incredibly mild and very pleasant. We woke to heavy thunderstorms but those passed after breakfast.

We thank God today for good conversations with Pastor Richar and Pastor Leopoldo on how we can continue to partner our efforts in the Amazon basin.

Tomorrow (March 15), the departs Iquitos and travels to Pebas. The goal is to visit all 7 of the villages that we have been discipling. Pray that even though our time will be short in each village that the Yagua will feel our continued love for them. We are bringing Bibles, song books, t-shirts courtesy the WBC Wild Worship and medicines. We will be out of communication until Tuesday afternoon when we return from Pebas.

Please pray for our safety as we travel including protection from diseases. Pray for the team as we have yet to endure the severe heat of the Amazon not to mention our first exposure to the vast variety of insects that will be seeking to sustain nourishment from us!

Also pray for continued strengthening of our relationship with the Peruvians.

Thank you for your prayers. God has blessed us tremendously thus far and we are anxious to give Him the glory.

A Dios Sea La Gloria!

The team made it to Iquitos with no lost luggage or team members! PTL!

We met Pastor Richar and made sure we are all sync’ed up. The plan is pretty much our original thoughts as posted on the trip itinerary off of the REAPWBC.org web site.

We’ll spend tomorrow buying supplies for the run up the river.

Prayer requests include:

* Discernment and good stewardship in purchasing supplies.

* Adjustment to the heat and humidity of the Amazon basin.

* Continued unification of the team in bringing glory to God.